Colony Raising/brooder Arrangement

[chickbird]

For Those Of You Who Hatch Out 25-125 Quail At A Time: Do You Place All Of Them In One Brooder When They Hatch Or Do You Divide Them Into Smaller Lots To Keep Them From Trampling The Smaller Or Weaker Ones? Or How Do You Manage Your New Hatches? Thanks

 

[kahlertm]

I do co brood BUT if I have week hatchlings or freshies that seem to have their necks and head stepped on a bit too much, I grab a few smaller ones of the established crew and put them in an alternate or standby heated plastic clear tub next door. 24 hours and everyone is strong enough and back in to be co brooded.
Some are strong enough to take being stepped on and it in fact appears stimulating as if the chick is waking= and seeing others of it's kind and eyes come open, observes pecking at food, where water is, etc. I let the strong ones stay in and the big bros and sisters show them the ropes. I watch each chick to see who needs to be introduced to staggered week apart hatches. I only do this to a certain point of growth, removing the bigger brothers and sisters (not literally should say bigger co brooders) out as they become TOO big fast into their bigger compartment. So I kind of co brood in size phases. New can go with up to a week old, week and two weeks and even 3 weeks can go together, then it is grow out time and they go to a bigger tub or cage out in a nice Quail house with a light for warmth as they have feathered at near 4,5,6 weeks.

Clear as mud?

Tonya

 

[quailmale]

I usually do about 150 to 200 Bobs at a time, I do not seperate them, I keep them all together start hatch to freezer and it seems to let them all know each other so there is no/little fighting. When I used to seperate them and then reintroduce them there would be territorial/size fighting, Bobs are bad about that, Coturnix not so much. But having said that-- different things seem to work for different people,